Arkansas brewer says craft beer industry growth bolstered by federal tax bill

Arkansas’ craft beer industry doubled in size between 2014 and 2016, but a Northwest Arkansas brewer said there is still room to grow, and that momentum could be helped by a proposed tax cut for brewers within a revised tax code bill passed Wednesday (Dec. 20) by Congress.

There were eight breweries in the state in 2014, and two years later that number increased to 16, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS recently published an industry spotlight on craft beer nationwide.

It showed over a 10-year period, from 2006 to 2016, breweries accounted for more than half of growth in the beverage manufacturing industry in the U.S. There were fewer than 500 breweries in the country before 2010, and in 2016 there were 2,843, according to BLS. The 2016 number is more than seven times the number of breweries in 2001, with the biggest jumps in the nationwide brewery count occurring in 2013 and 2014.

Jesse Core, owner of Core Brewing Co. in Springdale, said there is room for more craft beer manufacturers in Arkansas.

“I think we are at our infancy in this state. I think there’s tremendous growth opportunity in this space,” Core said.

For more of the craft beer industry growth click here.